In known handles, feed and discharge tubes are led via a sheathing tube to the grip element and fastened there to enable, for example, the fluid supply for a probe to which the handle can be attached. Such handles for surgical instruments have been known in the art.
When using surgical instruments, particular attention must be focused on sterility to ensure a safe intervention in the human body and to not unnecessarily jeopardize or prolong the healing of wounds following surgery. Considering this, there is a great demand for surgical devices and, in particular, handles for surgical instruments that, following use, can be machine-cleaned and processed, in particular, in suitable automatic washers.
As is known in the prior art, many such probes, handles and similar surgical devices are inherently unsuitable for automatic washers. As such, consequently, no seal was provided between the handle and the tubing. Mostly disposable parts were used. This represented a great environmental burden due to generated waste and use of large quantities of material; it also entailed high costs.
Until now, some flexible surgical probes resorted to the use of screw fittings to mechanically clamp the sheathing tube to the grip element. Such screw fittings have been used to create an additional seal between the sheathing tube and the grip element. In doing so, an additional integral compression spring, acting as a compression element, was intended to counteract any seating behavior resulting from thermal processing. However, in the long term, this did not guarantee a reliable seal because leaks still occurred due to thermal stress.
It is also known in the art to use silicone to create a seal between the sheathing tube and the grip element, in particular by gluing them together.
A further method is characterized in that the sheathing tube is molded on the grip element. However, in this case, a gap was formed between the sheathing tube and the tube, in particular due to an ovalizing of the tube when it was kinked, thus resulting in an infiltration of the tube by fluid or particles during the washing operation.
Publication DE 600 26 041 T2 discloses a protective sheathing tube that is suitable for use with a cryosurgical probe in a closed-cycle Joule-Thomson system. “Closed-cycle” means that the pressurized gas begins to circulate following expansion and is not discharged into the atmosphere. As a rule, these systems are permanently sealed to prevent the introduction of contaminants. The protective sheathing tube that is known in literature is slipped as an elastic component onto the probe so as to create a seal relative to the environment. Due to the sterile barrier achieved by the individual components, the probe can be used in a surgical procedure. This sheathing tube ensures the thermal conduction of the cryogenic probe tip by means of an integrally cast metal cap. The remainder of the sheathing tube consists of a material that is not thermally conductive such as, for example, a plastic material, and thus represents thermal insulation. However, the protective sheathing must be adapted to the exact design of each type of cryogenic probe to ensure a reliable fit. This is very time-consuming and expensive. Likewise, slipping-on the protective sheathing is fraught with difficulties because it must not be damaged for it to be able to fulfill its purpose of acting as a sterile cover for the components.